Brussels region agrees diesel vehicle ban by 2030

The Brussels government has set itself the target of banning all diesel vehicles within the region by 2030 "at the latest".

The region's environment minister, Céline Frémault, said an agreement "to get out of diesel" had been reached and a dialogue with affected groups, including car manufacturers, would now be launched.

A monitoring committee will be set up to lead a major overhaul of the region's "fiscal, environmental, economic and social" policies towards cars.

Frémault said that, in the longer term, "the next step" after a disel ban would be a ban on petrol vehicles. The agreement includes a commitment to develop alternative technologies "including those already available such as electric vehicles, hybrids and natural gas".

Improvements will also be made to air-quality monitoring around the city, including a network of new measuring stations and real-time information displays for the public.

Brussels mobility minister Pascal Smet said: "More than half of Brussels families do not have a car, but they breathe the worst air in the country and this must change."

The region is already implementing a gradual ban on the most-polluting diesel and petrol vehicles, with the introduction of a Low Emissions Zone since January.

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The reason why people in Brussels breathe such bad air is because of the truck traffic in the Brussels area. If the government was actually serious about air quality they would force many of the trucks to drive at night through Belgium. This would have wide-ranging benefits to everyone. Requiring people to drive electric vehicles etc is laughable, especially with electric rates being what they are here. Anyone who believes that electric cars are "emission free" needs to wake up call and a reality check. The government is who created this mess in the first place, and now the citizens have to suffer.